tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post708937572389314076..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: Bop with the Buddha the Way Buddha Bops--by Reb MacRathKatherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-35641659818713213432015-02-12T23:49:34.085+00:002015-02-12T23:49:34.085+00:00Good to see you again, Nick. I must confess to fee...Good to see you again, Nick. I must confess to feeling a little hurt that you didn't show my name, too, in capital letters. Then again, Wild Bill and Lydia do tend to have that effect. Now, get back to your novel and forget about your height, lad. No one who matters minds a man who's shorter than he wishes--but all of us are right to shun men shorter than they think.glitter noirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-27256132422482457672015-02-12T23:06:28.239+00:002015-02-12T23:06:28.239+00:00Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! That's right, it's...Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! That's right, it's me, Little Nickie again. Let me try to get this straight: The Buddha, The Buddha's many other faces, Keanu Reeves, Clint Eastwood, Stephen King, David Morrell, John Farris, Clive Barker, David Schow, Richard Monaco, Vladimir Friggin' Nabokov, Lolita and we're talkin WILD BILL KIRTON and blonde goddess LYDIA BENNETT--all in one blog and blog comments? If I wasn't so damned short, I'd finish my novel and join you. But what the heck am I to do, go to a publishing party and sit on some editor's lap? My lot is more than little bit sad...but, that said, I enjoyed all this more than a little bit lot.Nick Mercurionoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-44752603555384754742015-02-12T21:03:44.737+00:002015-02-12T21:03:44.737+00:00Well said, Richard. Good thing Nabokov had a stron...Well said, Richard. Good thing Nabokov had a strong constitution and a wicked sense of humor--or he'd have been driven mad by assumptions that he was Humbert Humbert in his masterpiece Lolita. glitter noirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-91769252537984922332015-02-12T20:48:42.312+00:002015-02-12T20:48:42.312+00:00If I punch you in the face, that's violence. I...If I punch you in the face, that's violence. If I say you were punched in the face, words. Many of my books have to do with war and crime. It's a matter of style whether you use vivid images or just say it happened. By definition, a book can't be violent, in itself, unless you throw it at someone. As I never tire of saying: don't confuse the author with his subjects.<br /><br />Richard Monaco - not a robot.Richard Monaconoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-16204888364583400822015-02-12T20:13:48.421+00:002015-02-12T20:13:48.421+00:00Thanks, Lydia. I agree about the line, which is ha...Thanks, Lydia. I agree about the line, which is hard to define. Breaking Bad was beloved by many fans who sincerely abhor violence--though was it was loaded with blood and gore. My guess it that the line of consists of a magical blend of attitude and artistry. I don't care for films that think violence is cool, where bullets and fists fly with no physical effect. Violence also turns me off in the standard teen splatter film where the characters are cut-outs sequentially set up to kill in cool ways.<br /><br />Lev, thank you. I'll take a look at GOSPEL. Important point about the varied faces not being wrong or hypocritical. The wrongness, I think, comes about when one imposes itself on another. glitter noirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-11109430298210613722015-02-12T17:38:03.198+00:002015-02-12T17:38:03.198+00:00Very insightful post and applicable to many religi...Very insightful post and applicable to many religious and poilitcal figures. It reminds me very much of Wilton Barnhardt's novel GOSPEL, in which he makes the case that all prophets fall short of perfection and have many faces publicly and privately. Moreimportantly, these things don't make one face wrong or the other right, nor do they imply hypocrisy, just humanity.<br /><br />Also, I'm fairly partial to the pirate face of Buddha:<br /><br />http://etsyitemoftheday.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/pirate-buddha-notecard.jpgLeverett Buttshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05822160835689818255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-17036089096824806412015-02-12T17:17:52.168+00:002015-02-12T17:17:52.168+00:00Interesting post Reb. I've a horror of sadism ...Interesting post Reb. I've a horror of sadism yet I like violent films especially if it's over the top and they can all dish it out and take it, and if it stays just one side of a line - Tarantino usually takes me right to the line but he's a big softie really - I like violent films like Sin City as well. But I can't bear 'horror' films which are really more sad - I can't watch the old Hammer Frankenstein, or King Kong, as they make me cry buckets for the 'monsters'. Anything where an animal or helpless person suffers cruelty I can't bear to watch. or read. Black Beauty is a good example of this! <br />Lydia Bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09328239009863878547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-4942419224526866202015-02-12T15:56:44.506+00:002015-02-12T15:56:44.506+00:00Two other graphic horror writers, both gentle gent...Two other graphic horror writers, both gentle gents and perfect pros, are David Schow and Clive Barker. And I still can't forget the article about Dirty Harry himself, Clint Eastwood, halting an interview so that he walk a trapped insect outside. Quite a contrast with a horror-hating coworker who, the other night, jumped screaming onto a beetle. glitter noirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-67996771976660585642015-02-12T14:48:31.705+00:002015-02-12T14:48:31.705+00:00Very true, Reb. Great point! Very true, Reb. Great point! David North-Martinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09067871309558488465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-35730644192897359702015-02-12T14:33:08.226+00:002015-02-12T14:33:08.226+00:00Thanks for the thoughtful comment, David. When all...Thanks for the thoughtful comment, David. When all the emphasis is placed on physical violence, it's easy to lose sight of another kind that's just as brutal in its way: spiritual or psychological violence--I mean deliberately causing others grief or pain. Children can turn on a parent after a divorce, shunning that parent for decades. Lives can be wounded through silence without anyone so much as raising a hand. But, despite the violent films he's made, Keanu Reeves still comes across as a gentle, compassionate person. glitter noirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-31821363405377417952015-02-12T14:05:54.435+00:002015-02-12T14:05:54.435+00:00I totally agree, Reb. I think many people forget a...I totally agree, Reb. I think many people forget about the fighting Buddhist monks of Shaolin, and many don’t know of the formidable fighting techniques hidden in the harmonious movements of Tai Chi. I don’t think many religions would require an adherent to refrain from an act of self-defense, or to relinquish the tools required to defend the self and others. The view that Buddhism is a completely pacifist religion is an idealized one, and patently naïve. <br /><br />Then there’s the idea that all violence is bad, but how can you have creation without destruction? Of course, hurting innocent and good people is bad. But doesn’t that also allow for the opposite—that hurting bad people is good? <br /><br />I also think that, when it comes to writing, readers have a hard time separating the art from the artist. What comes out on the page is only a reflection of the truth of human existence. There is violence in the world, and a world without violence will only be found within the workings of a utopia mind. Our fiction must reflect the hard truths of life for us to move anyone with our words. And when it comes down to it, better the violence remains on the page, locked up tight in the pages of a book.David North-Martinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09067871309558488465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-70779912549276162272015-02-12T13:22:59.286+00:002015-02-12T13:22:59.286+00:00Don't worry, Bill. You're revered for exce...Don't worry, Bill. You're revered for excellent reasons and are known as a Great Bopper.glitter noirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11728649916344336118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-31768210919694072272015-02-12T12:11:37.449+00:002015-02-12T12:11:37.449+00:00As someone whose reviews have included one which s...As someone whose reviews have included one which speculated about my psyche and another which said the fact that I also write children's books was creepy, I'm naturally entirely in agreement, Reb. On the other hand, when I revisit a violent passage I've written, i sometimes do wonder where it came from.Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.com